Sarah Connor Chronicles: TV Series

Well, the "suspense" will be over shortly. The two hour "season finale" happens next week. Then there will be the inevitable wait to see if it reappears in the future (sorta like Skynet).

Jim

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Well, despite my reservations, I rather hope they give it a little more room to breathe. As I noted, it has been growing, bit by bit, and the scripts seem to be more thoughtful (if still having some problems with periodic inconsistencies), so I'd like to see it realize its potential -- or at least close to....

Well, the "two hour season finale" is now over. I'll avoid spoilers for those who have yet to see it. It was not really a two hour episode. It was two back to back episodes. It felt like the end of the writers' strike created a need for this mid-season show to be wound up quickly in order to provide room for the return of the "regular" shows on Fox.

I've been faithfully following all the episodes with the concept in mind that a TV series must, of necessity, follow a different path than a motion picture. Continuity is an important factor and recurring themes and characters lend some semblance of stability to the story.

However, last night's sendoff left me feeling less committed to following the (supposed) return of the show next year. There has been a feel to the series that gravitates somewhere between The Fugitive and Ozzie and Harriet. Sarah is concerned that John have a "normal" upbringing. So we've got high school field trips and prom dates (don't ask). At least I didn't hear her say: "Ward, I'm worried about the Beaver."

But I can live with this. It's a network show, not an independent cable effort. So my expectations can be a little compromised and I'll still stay tuned. But in the finale(s), there were were plot holes big enough to drive a truck through. It served to give me cause to question the degree of "willing suspension of disbelief" I'm able to tolerate. Of course the final scenes deliberately left enough unanswered questions to coax viewers to look forward to next season. But is that enough? I'll hang in there for now. Beats the stink out of reality shows anyway.

If you take a look at page 179 of the April issue of "Vanity Fair" there is a glamour photo (dare I say "Vargas-esque") of Summer Glau. If I hadn't read the caption, I would have guessed that it was someone like Catherine Zeta-Jones. Maybe there will be life after Terminator for her.

I think that's the problem with this one -- it started out with some good points, but overall quite weak; while definitely improving in various ways, that may have crippled it altogether. And the ways in which it is improving is in the ideas they're playing with, and in the various types of social commentary and the issues they're addressing (sometimes quite subtly, sometimes rather clumsily, and sometimes with a fair amount of humor).

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Now that we are further through the series in the UK, I agree with the earlier comments to keep watching. A TV series can balance many more story threads up in the air than a film can, and they have really done this now with the ex-boyfriend paramedic, FBI agents, schoolteacher with a secret, several different Terminators and Resistance Fighters on different missions, the Turk, and the uncle.

However, I'm disappointed that the comments about the final episode don't make it look so good.

However, I'm disappointed that the comments about the final episode don't make it look so good.

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Don't pay any attention to my desultory ravings. It's worth seeing through to the season finale. I mainly felt that the story line got a little fragmented at the conclusion. But I may have been overly critical.

Don't pay any attention to my desultory ravings. It's worth seeing through to the season finale. I mainly felt that the story line got a little fragmented at the conclusion. But I may have been overly critical.

Jim

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I've been told (how accurate this is, I don't know) that part of this is due to the timing of the writer's strike, which meant they had to edit together existing footage, leaving it with some serious gaps.

I would say that it's worth watching, but it could be one heck of a lot better. I think they need to think through their concepts a good deal better, and look for the stories within those (which possibilities are enormous; look how much play Asimov found in his Three Laws, for instance....)

It's well worth it. I watched the pilot episode expecting it to suck, but I was pleasantly surprised. I watched the entire series so far, and while it gets a bit muddled near the end, I thought they did an admirable job - it's certainly a major set up from the pile of feces that was T3.

I'm not sure where I am up to (as regards the episode number) (and I don't wish to spoil) but there were several flashbacks to the future (or is that flash-forward) with Connor taking hold of the time-travel complex. I actaully look forward to watching this show now (and there is nothing else on TV right now that I do) so I'd certainly encourage others to watch it. The first few episodes are a little slow, predictable and recycled, but it does get better.

Well, I'm watching this on Virgin 1 in the Uk, so I'm about 5 or 6 episodes in and....
It's so BORING! Nothing happens! I mean, yeah Sarah's ex boyfreind shows up (big soap opera yawn) and a few terminators shoot at things (quite inaccuratly, as has been pointed out) and Summer Glau is hot, but it's mostly just people sat in a room being gloomy and whining about thier feelings and dealing with "issues."

I know a TV budget means they can't be blowing up buildings and chasing through city streets in lorries every episode but still...

While the ending was a little muddled, I liked the closure. If (and these things are never determined in advance) the series is cut, then that would be a reasonable ending. It hasn't been very often that we have got that with cancelled shows. If there is a second Season, then all the elements were left there to pick up. One thing I can't see is it continuing without Summer Glau, so the final scene would possibly need some retconning.

I think that's a bit unfair; wasn't that meant to be linked to Sarah's little "That's our Mission, but this is our Life" speech? It is not as if that was all that happened every week. It's certainly not 'Roswell' or 'Smallville' or 'Home and Away'.

One thing I did like was that Derek knew that Kyle was Connor's father all along, and had no problem with it: "Every time I look at you, I see him." Yet, Sarah has been trying to hide that fact for half the Season.